This collection comprises notes, drafts of addresses and talks, some correspondence, sketches, photographs, postcards, printed material and other personal papers of Mary Myers, relating mainly to the education of girls in the Sudan and particularly to her work at the Wad Medani school in the Sudan, where she was headmistress. There are some letters from and photographs of girl guides at the school, and a few photographs relating to her work at the Nazareth Orphanage in Palestine and some samples of Palestinian needle lace. The collection was largely compiled by Mary's sister ,Elsie Barter, who also included explanatory notes about the material for the benefit of the CMS Archivist and correspondence relating to her collection of material relating to her sister.

Arrangement

This collection forms part of the Church Missionary Society Unofficial Papers. It is arranged into a single series: Family Papers

Access Conditions

Access to all registered readers

Language

English

Arabic

Finding Aids

A catalogue of this collection (forming part of the wider CMS/ACC unofficial papers catalogue) is available on the online archive catalogue. Click on the Finding Number to display the summary contents list of the catalogue and to view the full catalogue. A paper copy of this catalogue is also available for consultation at Special Collections.

Access Status

Open

Administrative History

Mary Theresa Myers (1880-1959) was accepted as a missionary with the CMS in 1908. She served with the Palestine Mission where she worked at the Nazareth Orphanage, 1908-1914. In 1917, she joined the Sudan Mission and worked as a missionary teacher and later headmistress at the Wad Medani Girls' School, where she largely taught Muslim girls. The school grew rapidly during her time at the school because of the development of the Gezira cotton-growing area after the opening of the Sennar Dam in 1925. In recognition of her services to female education in Sudan she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire. She retired in 1940. During her last years she lived with her sister Elsie Barter in Blockley, Gloucestershire.

References: Manuscript register of CMS missionaries, women, 1908-1910 in the CMS archive; Gordon Hewitt, The Problems of Success: a history of the Church Missionary Society 1910-1942 (SCM Press Ltd, 1971)

Custodial History

Presented to the CMS by Mrs. Elsie Barter, Jan 1960; transferred on permanent loan to the Special Collections Department by the CMS in the 1980s

Related Material

The Special Collections Department holds the Church Missionary Society Archive, the official archive of the society, (GB 0150 CMS) which includes papers relating to Mary Myers's service as a CMS missionary teacher